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Enjoying whiskey takes learning, smelling and tasting are part of it. After a five-year break, the German-Irish people have once again invited people to a whiskey tasting in the Dorheim community center. © Loni Schuchardt
Julia Nourney has been a whiskey expert for more than 30 years. Irish whiskey has recently experienced an unexpected upswing, as was evident at the German-Irish whiskey tasting.
On Friday evening, after a five-year break, Julia Nourney led a whiskey tasting at the Friedberger German-Irish in Dorheim. “We could have given away twice as many places, you are one of the privileged ones,” said organizer Julia Blatt when welcoming the 30 participants, including a handful of women.
Nourney’s son Felix almost had to do the tasting alone. Nourney: “I come directly from Ireland, was supposed to fly out at 12 p.m., then it was 3 p.m..” Felix would have been an adequate replacement. The 26-year-old studied beverage technology in Geisenheim and works freelance in distilleries around the world.
The motto of the tasting was “New Distilleries”. Julia Blatt had the idea for this. “In the last five to 10 years the number of distilleries across Ireland has increased from six to 42,” said Nourney, who selected six whiskeys from “young distilleries.”
Together with her son, she draped the six samples in front of each seat on documents specially created for this tasting, on which the corresponding bottles were shown along with the German-Irish logo.
“The Irish distilleries have growth rates of 15 to 20 percent, something the Scots can only dream of with their stagnating sales,” explained the whiskey expert, who also attributes this stagnation to the consequences of Brexit. Not all new distilleries already have whiskeys on the market, because a distillate can only be called whiskey after it has been stored for at least three years, explained Nourney, who repeatedly discussed the long history of whiskey distilling on the Emerald Isle.
Where the “e” in whiskey comes from
During the tasting, the participants learned a lot about the technique of whiskey production, always presented with a lot of humor and personal experiences by Nourney, who explained why the Irish write whiskey with an e – in contrast to the Scots. Nourney: “Some say it comes from Gaelic, others say it stands for Eire (English for Ireland, ed.), others claim that the e stands for elegant. I like the last explanation.”
The tasting opened with the single grain “Straw Boys”, named after the men wearing straw masks who kidnap brides at weddings in Ireland.
This is how the correct drinking technique works
The special thing about the 43 percenter: It is not made from raw grain, but from corn, hence the name “grain”. Before the test began, the visitors learned what, according to Nourney, is the perfect drinking technique: “Take a third in your mouth, chew it, leave it at the bottom of your mouth, bend forward slightly, draw in a little air, swallow it and then breathe through it.”
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Many participants were amazed at the taste explosion created in this way. This was followed by two single malts with “Fercullen” and “Shortcross” with an alcohol content of 46 percent. Then it was time for the special “treasures” such as “The Liberator” and “Connacht” with an alcohol content of 50 to 56 percent and a circulation of only 300 and 400 bottles respectively.
You can also drink water with it. “Please don’t pour the water into the glass, but put some in your mouth and then add the whiskey,” said Nourney, who was nominated for the “Irish Whiskey Award” for the “BDF” whiskey that she blended, i.e. put together from different barrels . Nourney: “Keep your fingers crossed for me.”
By the way, BDF stands for “Best drinking Friends”. The idea came about during an online tasting during a Corona lockdown. There are only 162 bottles of it available. “We all became best drinking friends tonight,” Nourney said at the end.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: whiskey expert Julia Nourney and son Felix, also a specialist. © Loni Schuchardt
2023-10-31 21:26:57
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